Attempts at providing weedless fishing lures have frequently been tried. Many such design attempts have been directed to worm and spoon type lures. Although various designs have been put forth, one of the most common approaches has entailed extending a flexible wire-like member from the body of the lure to engagement with the hooks. The wire-like member acts to shed grass, small limbs and other debris within the water, but is designed to be easily overcome by the force of a fish bite such that the hook is operative to engage and hook the fish during this act.
Applicant, as disclosed in prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,668, devised a body type fishing lure with retractable hooks that moved from a retracted position to an exposed position in response to a predetermined amount of tension being applied to the fishing line such as would occur when a fish would grasp the lure as the same was moved through the water. While this basic design was functional and operable, the mechanism designed and provided for actuating the hooks has some disadvantages when considered in a production context. For example, the mechanism disclosed includes many moving parts that required assemblage. In addition the design was such that most of these parts required special tooling. In the end, the mechanism involved was relatively expensive and had the potential for being difficult to maintain.
In addition it has been discovered that providing a plastic fishing lure with an open interior cavity presents a flotation problem. The presence of a cavity in a plastic type lure gives rise to the lure having a tendency to sink and accordingly presents a serious problem where it is desirable to provide a top water or medium-depth fishing lure.
Therefore, there is a need for a weedless fishing lure of the movable hook type that includes an actuating mechanism that overcomes the disadvantages of a mechanism of the type shown and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,668. In addition there is a need to provide an artificial fishing lure of the weedless type and which includes an open cavity therein that will easily float as the same is moved through the water.